Early voting closes in Harris County with record turnout

Early voting closes with record turnoutUp to 450,000 ballots cast in Harris County

BRADLEY OLSON, HOUSTON CHRONICLE |
October 29, 2010

Taken together, the events of the 2010 election season in Harris County sound almost good enough for a movie plot: electoral turmoil, thousands of burned up voting machines, controversial poll watchers and electioneering, traded allegations of voter fraud and voter suppression, even a few dirty tricks.

Whatever the causes or motivations behind the differing dramas this election season, it has not been enough to deter voters. As polls closed Friday before Tuesday's general election, as many as 450,000 people are expected to have cast their ballots early or by mail, an amount officials say is likely to make up about 65 percent of the total, a record for Harris County in a gubernatorial contest. That would more than double the total number of early votes in 2002 and 2006.

Harris County Clerk Beverly Kaufman predicted that as many as 300,000 will cast their ballots Tuesday, putting overall turnout at 750,000, or about 39 percent of registered voters.

Kaufman attributed the huge early voter turnout to a "true spirit of cooperation" among voters aware of the August fire that destroyed 10,000 pieces of voting equipment. Immediately after the blaze and before she knew whether the county would be able to obtain enough electronic voting machines by Tuesday, Kaufman began imploring residents to vote early to avoid the sort of lines that could discourage turnout on Election Day.

'White noise'

A concern for other voters was precisely what brought Michael McHugh, 19, to the West Gray Multi-Service Center to vote on Friday.

McHugh said he knew the lines could be long Tuesday, so he wanted to vote early to make sure everyone would get a chance on Election Day.

Many voters who cast their ballots Friday said they ignored much of the claims and counterclaims by parties, politicians and advocacy groups about voter fraud and suppression.

"Most voters just tune it all out, it's white noise," said Bill Miller, a political consultant and lobbyist who works with both Republicans and Democrats. "They are trouping to the polls. The people that are fighting and complaining and pointing fingers are the political insiders. That's part of their job description."

Pollsters and political insiders are predicting a strong showing for Republicans nationwide as many voters weigh concerns over continued economic uncertainty and government spending.

Locally, those stakes have manifested themselves with tight contests for many Harris County races, as well as in claims and counterclaims of voter fraud and suppression. State and local Democratic Party officials have traded barbs for months with Republicans and leaders of the King Street Patriots over voter turnout efforts.

And this week, black leaders condemned a flier that was distributed in some predominantly minority Houston neighborhoods that included misleading information.

The fliers, attributed to a nonexistent group called the Black Democratic Trust of Texas, encourage voters not to vote a straight Democratic ticket because "Republicans are trying to trick us" and erroneously claim that a vote for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White would equate to a straight-ticket Democratic vote.

The fraud and suppression allegations were "a non-issue as far as I was concerned," said Bill Mitchell, 65, who voted at the West Gray Multi-Service Center Friday.

Kaufman suggested that turnout has been bolstered both by the race for governor between White, a former Houston mayor, and Republican incumbent Gov. Rick Perry and three propositions on the city ballot.

Well-informed voters

Rice University political scientist Bob Stein agreed. He has been polling hundreds of voters within the city limits, nearly half of whom already have voted.

Stein said voters overwhelmingly are well-informed about the propositions, which include a referendum on a 20-year, $8 billion infrastructure spending program, an initiative that would reduce residency requirements for those running in City Council districts and a proposition on whether the use of red-light cameras should continue.

Stein said far more people with a Republican voting history have cast their ballots early than those with a Democratic history, which could mean that many Democrats will vote on Election Day.